News from afar…
Friday, February 23rd, 2007Greetings fans of Brooke and JR. This is a courtesy update from Brooke’s mom, for any of you that are following their adventures and log in, only to find no update. Not to worry. Brooke sent me a brief note last Tuesday saying the trip plan had changed and they were not going to Nepal as early as planned. She said they love India, and had met some wonderful people who convinced them to go to a remote group of islands off the coast of Thailand, the Andaman Islands, the “last paradise on earth”. They were leaving that day for Munnar, then would hop to the Islands, and would be there about 12 days.
I promptly googled Andaman Islands, and was relieved to see that, contrary to popular belief, the native tribes on the islands were not cannibals. Great. The islands sound wonderful and like a step back in time….but, of course, worrying mother that I am…I had visions of non-cannibalistic tribes carrying my blonde, blue eyed daughter off to the jungle, to be worshipped as a Goddess, never to be seen again.
Nearly 10 days have gone by, and I have struggled to keep that vision out of my head and replace it with a vision of Brooke and JR, sitting outside their beach hut trying to decide between reading another book or practicing their yoga routines. Thank God, the latter vision was confirmed last night. My phone rang at 1am and I have never been so happy to hear my daughters voice.
They are safe and sound on the islands, which sound exotic and heavenly. Although there are no computers, only a couple of pay phones, and frequent power outages, they love it. They spend their days bicycling through beautiful terrain to discover yet another beach, and evenings around campfires with other beach hut dwellers. Oh darn, don’t you feel bad for them.
Well, Brooke asked me to log in and give you a quick update and let you know all is well. They plan to leave the islands around March 1 and will go next to either Calcutta or Delhi…..I am anticipating another round of culture shock! She promised to log in as soon as she can to give you all an authentic update. Until then….keep them both in your thoughts and surround them with good energy. Mom.
We left Madurai last Wednesday and took a 4 hour bus into the mountains to a hill station called Kodaikanal. Riding a bus ... 
Well folks, as speculated...we couldn't hang at the Ashram for the full two weeks. It was kind of like a church camp full of New-Agers. Here is the ... 
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